Before arriving at the destination, Isabelle stops by the teacher's lounge and picks up some paperwork. Saiba asks.
"What's that for?"
Isabelle answers,
"Oh this? It's just some forms I need to fill out."
They step out of the school and into a bustling city street. Buildings, of all shapes and sizes, line the path. Within the streets, pedestrians, animals, and vehicles pass by the two.
Isabelle continues walking until she arrives at a large rectangle building labelled, 'The Garb Age B. Inn'. They walk into the lobby area. The condition is a little below standard and the room is decorated with some couches and tables.
Isabelle keeps moving forward towards a staircase as she climbs up to the second floor. There, she walks to one of the doors and unlocks it with a key from her pocket.
They walk into a bright, very decorated room. It's squeaky clean, completely contrasting the rest of the establishment. Isabelle lays her paperwork down on a countertop and says,
"Make yourself at home! I know it's not much, but it's enough for me!"
Awkwardly, Saiba questions,
"Could this be... Your house..?"
Confused, Isabelle answers,
"Hm? Oh yeah! This is where I've been living while I've been working at the Academy!"
Saiba quickly turns around and heads to the door while saying,
"Uh... I don't really wanna cause you any trouble and I feel like I'm kinda intruding, so I'm gonna go and find my own place to stay..."
Isabelle pulls him back in as she protests,
"Nope! That's not allowed! Food might be easy, but all inns here are always filled, so there's no chance you'll find a place to stay."
Defeated, Saiba drags his feet back inside. Isabelle instructs,
"I'll make some dinner, so you just sit tight at the table, okay?"
She smiles at Saiba which melts his heart. He sits on a chair at the dinner table, contemplating his life. He thinks,
"How did I get myself in this situation... I'm stuck here in a girl's house. All alone, with the girl... Wait, no. This isn't even my fault! It's all the King's fault! I'm gonna get back at him when I see him again!"
He is interrupted by Isabelle who calls out,
"Dinner is ready!"
She brings over a pot with some sort of stew inside. Along with it, she brings two plates with rice. One for Saiba and one for her. Saiba takes a whiff of the food and gets a hit of nostalgia. He thinks,
"This smell... I know I've smelled it before... There's no way I could mistake it... It's my favorite... The one and only... It's-"
He gets cut off as Isabelle scoops some of the stew onto Saiba's plate while saying,
"It's curry!"
On Saiba's plate, there's a mound of white, shiny grains of rice covered by a good helping of hot steamy curry. Within the spice-filled, brown sauce, various chunks of beef, potatoes, and carrots swim around, marinating and coating themselves in the aromatic elixir.
Saiba digs in, taking a spoonful and shoving it into his mouth. He chews it, savoring the flavor before swallowing it down and shouting,
"De-lish!"
Isabelle smiles and replies,
"I'm glad you like it!"
Before taking another bite, he becomes very serious and begins analyzing,
"It tastes just like the real thing. How did they find out about Japanese curry? Could it just be a coincidence..? But it has the same name too. That's way too much of a coincidence..."
As Isabelle begins eating, as well, as Saiba asks,
"Where'd you learn how to make this?"
Isabelle answers,
"My mother taught me. Did you wanna learn how to make it too? I can teach you if you would like."
She strikes a Saiba like pose and says,
"I AM a teacher, after all!"
Saiba asks another question,
"Where did your mom learn how to make it?"
Isabelle answers,
"Um... I think a friend gave her the recipe..."
Again, Saiba asks,
"Where did your mom's friend learn how to make it?"
Now confused, Isabelle questions
"Do you want to know where the recipe originated..?"
Curious, Saiba nods yes. She begins explaining,
"As far as I know, it started in a cookbook that was written by the... um... Great King..."
Saiba thinks,
"The King, huh? This guy seems to know a lot about my world... I wonder who told him about it..."
Trying to make the conversation seem normal, Saiba replies,
"O-Oh! Is that so! I think I'll buy his cookbook sometime then..."
They keep eating and finish soon after. The moon rises as Isabelle suggests,
"You can sleep in my room and there's water in the tub, in case you would like to take a bath."
Saiba replies,
"Huh? It's okay, you can take the bed. I can sleep anywhere!"
He remembers falling asleep in multiple battlefields, already. Isabelle protests,
"No! It would be rude to a guest to not let you sleep in a comfortable bed."
Saiba says,
"I don't really wanna make a girl sleep on the floor or something, though..."
Isabelle makes a suggestion,
"Oh! Don't worry, I have an idea!"
The scene cuts to Saiba, lying wide-awake in a bed. Beside him, light snores can be heard as Isabelle lies, asleep.
Saiba lies, sweating, nervous, and completely restless as he thinks,
"How did I get myself into this situation!?"